Following events during the summer, a large number of questions remain unanswered that affect the short, medium and long-term future of our club. Those that spring instantly to mind include:

• What are the key objectives that the club is working to given that the Seven Point Plan is out of date?
• How is the all of the cash injection from Mike Turl that was turned down going to be covered over the next two seasons?
• How would the Board cope with any cashflow problems associated with falling crowds and Share Scheme subscriptions as a result of the recent Boardroom problems?
• How can supporters be sure that we won’t return to the old days of major budget overspends and inadequate financial controls now that the people who introduced new systems and processes have departed?
• Who is going to oversee the delivery of the Memorial Stadium regeneration project when many of the chief protagonists in getting it this far have departed the Boardroom?
• How are the Board going to solve the problem of having a number of properties critical to the regeneration project being owned by ex-Directors?
• Who is going to cover all of the work done by the departed directors, especially in relation to communicating with fans, developing links with the community/leading the drive for new supporters and developing a strong relationship with local non-league clubs?
• Given recent events, how are the Board going to demonstrate that they are fully committed to proper fan representation at our club and that the position of a Fans’ Director is not just an empty gesture?

In the absence of full answers from the Boardroom to these questions, we’ve decided to dedicate a regular section of this website to assessing “The State of the Club” in order to keep fans up to date with the club’s on and off-field performance and assess the degree to which the various statements made by the Board during the summer that everything is in order and covered are holding true.

With it being the first league game of the season tonight, we look first at Rovers’ opening game attendances over the last few seasons, which are captured in the table below. The crowd tonight will provide a first indication of not only the impact the summer’s events have had on Rovers’ fans willingness to back the current Board but also the desire of fans to watch yet another season of basement division football.

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